Chapter Twelve

The SmackDown Into Survivor Series

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me..."

"I wish. I'm sorry, Dave," Cassie told him soothingly. "But I just came from Teddy's office, and the match has been set up."

"Two days until Survivor Series and he wants to take his shot at my title now?"

"Sorry," Cassie offered. The "he" Dave was referring to was the "Legend Killer" Randy Orton, who wanted a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. Dave shot Cassie a reassuring smile, even though he wasn't feeling so confident in himself these days. He was still bandaged heavily from the assault on Monday night. Mentally and physically he was a mess. They both knew that Randy Orton was just trying to capitalize on that. Capitalizing on the misfortune of others was something he did well. Randy wanted to make a name for himself at Dave's expense so he could have all the momentum going into Survivor Series. Both Cassie and Dave were disgusted, although Dave wasn't surprised since they had spent time together in Evolution.

"You know, Cassie, I'm really starting to wish that they left his narrow ass over on Raw," Dave told her. She laughed.

"I've been thinking the same thing since he showed up here," she confessed sheepishly. They fell silent. The sparkle in Cassie's brown eyes faded, giving way to concern. "Dave, please be careful out there tonight. I just know that Team Raw is going to show up. Monday night, and the parking lot brawl...I can sense they're coming here tonight to get that one last one-up before Sunday. Please be careful."

"I'll be fine. I know they're probably coming," he assured her. "If not all of them, they'll at least send Big Show and Kane to slam me through something again." He chuckled, but Cassie wasn't laughing. He looked at her and snorted. "Oh, come on - lighten up, Cassie. Survivor Series is in a couple days, and everyone knows this locker room could use some humor."

"Tell me how humorous and lighthearted you felt when you crashed down on the hood of that car," she retorted. Dave knew she had a point; he sure hadn't been laughing then. He shouldn't be laughing now. He should be angrier than he was.

"Thanks for the lead pipe, by the way. It sure came in handy," he chuckled.

"Good to know," she replied.

"How's Johnny boy doing?" he asked. "I know you were hanging out with him on Raw the other night." She nodded.

"He's all right, I guess. He gets transferred from SmackDown to Raw to take on the same guys." Instead of tearing through a new canvas of opponents, John was still suffering through the same old recycled matches with the likes of Kurt Angle. John had a long standing history with Kurt; Angle had been John's first WWE opponent, unbeatable to John for years until he finally defeated Kurt at No Way Out back in February. They both knew things weren't looking good for John on Sunday, what with another match against Kurt Angle, who had recruited a personal referee in the form of Khoshrow Daivari, the former manager of the long-departed Muhammad Hassan. Despite the odds being stacked against him, John was remaining cautiously optimistic that something would happen and he would retain his championship.

"I bet he feels dumb about that DQ finish at Unforgiven now," Dave told her. Cassie shrugged.

"I doubt it. I know John; he's not the type to feel dumb about much," she answered. "Anyway, what are you talking about? You retained by a DQ at the Great American Bash, Dave. You're one to talk."

"Yeah, but Bischoff isn't my boss anymore," he reminded her. She knew that Eric was afraid of Dave and would have more than likely given Dave the reigns of Raw if Dave had just looked at him sideways and appeared threatening enough. Eric was the type that knew to avoid the finishers because he had eaten enough of him during his tenure as Raw General Manager.

"Dave, are you going to be able to take Randy Orton tonight?" she asked meekly. The red-hot look he gave her made her want to crawl inside herself and disappear. He looked offended. She felt bad for even saying anything.

"I can't believe you just said that."

"Dave, I'm not trying to be a bitch. It's just...you've been to Hell and back the past few weeks, and now this...I think it's okay for me to be more than slightly concerned about you."

"What kind of match is it going to be?" he asked her.

"One on one. Straight up."

"I guess until the Raw team shows up. Then it becomes a lumberjack match," he commented, "five guys from Raw getting their asses handed to them by the fifty guys on SmackDown." He laughed at the mental image. "I'd give my right arm to see the Cruiserweights gang up on the Big Show."

"You're terrible," Cassie proclaimed with a laugh.

"Then why are you laughing?"

"I'm not laughing, I'm leaving," she told him. "I have a match with Melina tonight that I need to go get ready for. Good luck out there, Dave. I'll see you later tonight." He nodded. She walked out the door, closing it softly behind her. He exhaled. This whole stress with the two brands has been creating tension between the two of them. He couldn't wait for Survivor Series to be over and for everything to go back to normal.

The match with Melina had been an unorganized mess. Cassie and Melina didn't care for one another; in fact, most of the Divas seemed to despise Melina. At the end of the night, Cassie stood by the monitor backstage with several other people, watching the main event of Randy Orton vs. Dave Batista. True to premonition, Team Raw showed up and Dave was double-teamed once again by the behemoth tag team of Big Show and Kane. Tonight, he had been slammed through the commentator's table, which broke under his three hundred and eighteen pound frame. Cassie didn't understand why the entire SmackDown roster wasn't coming to the aid of the champion. Sure, there were people fighting everywhere, but nobody thought to help Dave against the two biggest men on the team. It was so frustrating to her.

Team Raw was eventually driven out of the arena. Cassie peeked through the black curtain. She couldn't see Dave. The SmackDown roster that had filed out were crowded around the table and blocking her already limited view. She turned, careening into Jillian Hall, who was dressed in a little blue business suit, her blonde hair slicked around her face stylishly.

"What's the damage?" Jillian asked, her clear blue eyes flashing with concern. Cassie sighed.

"It's bad, Jillian. It's going to be a miracle if Dave isn't the first one pegged off on Sunday." Jillian sucked in a breath and exhaled in a whistle.

"It still looks good for us, though, doesn't it?"

"Care to look at Dave and say that?" she asked. Jillian walked past Cassie and peered between the black curtains. She saw JBL and Lashley helping Dave to his feet. Jillian turned to Cassie, a sad smile on her face.

"That's not good."

"Big Show, Kane, Chris Masters, Shawn Michaels and Carlito," Cassie murmured, foreseeing the match Sunday night.

"JBL, Lashley, Batista, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio."

"Only one brand's going to win," Cassie prophesied, "but in the end, we're all losers."